10 things our kids do that we should too...

1. Read for fun. If I have to think really hard to figure out why a book is good, the author didn't do a good job. Read The Chronicles of Narnia, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, or anything by Edith Nesbit.

2. Play dress up. Put on what my daughter calls "dancing dresses" (anything you can twirl in). Something that makes you feel beautiful every time you move around. Then go look in a mirror and tell yourself how beautiful you are.

3. Put yourself to bed. Bedtime routines (like all things mothers seem to be competing about these days) are starting to get a little over-the-top. Brushing your teeth and a goodnight kiss aren't enough, you need a bath, aromatherapy, infant massage, a few books and some mozart before you tuck them into their organic cotton jammies. So why not do a little bit of that for yourself? It only takes a few minutes to go from crashing in an old t-shirt with your makeup on to washing up, rubbing a little lavender into your temples and crawling into a real pair of comfy pajamas. Don't have some? Get them. Extra points if they have footies.

4. Get really excited about stupid things. Like flowers and dogs and ice cream.

5. Get really sad about stupid things. You can cry because you wanted to wear your favorite purple pajamas and now they're in the wash. It's ok. Then see below....

6. Get a kiss to make it better. Kids let all their emotions out, ask for comfort and move on. ASK being the key word here.

7. Play like it's your job. Color a picture, build a block tower, or design an elaborate doll house with ridiculous intensity.

8. Revel in small accomplishments. You got dressed all by yourself! Way to go. You're a big kid.

9. Ask for help. Because sometimes you just want someone to tie your shoes for you. Not because you can't, but because you want to know that someone is willing to take care of you if you ask them to.

10. Live in the present. Kids generally can't predict what will happen next, so they don't really try. New flash: Neither can you. So stop worrying about it.